Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, October 29, 1996

The owner of a Pacific Heights apartment building where a February deck collapse killed a woman charged yesterday that the district attorney's decision to personally prosecute the case against him is born out of a long-standing grudge between the two men's deceased fathers.

District Attorney Terence Hallinan appeared in San Francisco Superior Court yesterday morning to initiate the involuntary manslaughter case against Randall Nathan, who owned the apartment building on Franklin Street where a 32-year- old San Rafael woman died.

Hallinan's presence in the courtroom marks the first time in half a century that the city's sitting district attorney has actively tried a case, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

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The district attorney calls the case "potentially precedent-setting" and one that would strike a blow against negligent landlords who ignore their responsibility to the public weal.

But Nathan calls Hallinan's involvement a personal vendetta -- an attempt to further a family feud that harkens back to the 1950s.

"I said when I campaigned that I would personally prosecute cases," said Hallinan. "I believe a district attorney has to be active. This may not be an easy case to win, but I feel very strongly about it because of the nature of the offense."

During his campaign for office, Hallinan said he would make white-collar crime a priority, including infractions by corporations and landlords.

But Nathan believes Hallinan has another motive. As San Francisco Superior Court Judge Robert Dondero conferred in his chambers with Hallinan and defense attorney William L. Osterhoudt, Nathan said his family has had a long and troubled history with the Hallinan clan -- specifically Hallinan's late father, Vincent, a notoriously feisty and left-leaning attorney.

"It goes all the way back to the '50s," said Nathan. "My father (Henry B. Nathan) was the president of the (San Francisco) Bar Association, and he was involved in a big dispute with Terence's father. It was during the McCarthy hearings, and there was a lot of bad blood, though I don't know specifically what it was about. But now (Terence) gets to live out his vendetta."

Nathan said he once met Terence Hallinan during those troubled times.

"I was about 8, and Terence was somewhat older," said Nathan. "(Vincent) came over to our house with his sons to confront my father. Terence said to me, 'Your father isn't going to get away with this,' and he hit me -- he just blasted me. I made it a point to stay away from him ever since."

When asked about the alleged confrontation, Hallinan shook his head and chuckled derisively.

"Did I knock him out?" he asked. "Seriously, I don't know the man -- I never met him before this case."

Osterhoudt, Nathan's lead defense attorney, said the case will not pivot on any past discord, real or apocryphal, between Hallinan and Nathan.

"I look forward to trying this case," said Osterhoudt. "I don't believe it is well-founded. But I don't think (old vendettas) will play any role in the proceedings. Mr. Nathan's father and Mr. Hallinan's father are both dead."

Nathan is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the February 17 death of Mary Ellen Slane, who died when the deck on the fourth floor of an apartment building collapsed during a party. Twelve people were injured in the incident.

City records show that the deck was constructed illegally.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys met yesterday in San Francisco Superior Court to determine a judge for the trial, and Dondero was selected. Jury selection will begin Thursday, and opening arguments are expected November 6.

Judge Douglas Munson initially attempted to assign the case to Judge Jack Berman. But Hallinan objected, saying Berman might harbor some animus toward him because of discord between Berman and prosecutors during the recent trial of the Rev. Martin Greenlaw, a San Francisco Catholic priest convicted of embezzling several hundred thousand dollars.

Prosecutors were apoplectic when Berman refused to sentence Greenlaw to prison, opting instead for fines and probation.

After Hallinan's challenge, Munson assigned the case to Dondero.

Prosecutors charge that Nathan illegally moved the deck's supporting beams and posts close to the building to allow room for a stairway, rendering the structure unsafe.

Along with the involuntary manslaughter count, Nathan is charged with maintaining an unsafe building and failing to obtain proper building permits, both misdemeanors.

Hallinan said he could not discuss specifics about the case because prosecutors and defense attorneys have been placed under a gag order.